DL1: Mother

General Summary

Hadley's Hope had fallen silent.   It was an outpost hosting a biorefinery producing biofuels and manufacturing materials for the slowly reestablishing civilization of the Homeland. A trader heading up to Hadley's last week scurried back to Out screaming about smoke and fire from the buildings. So the local Lawgiver (and his hippogriff Sandy) assembled a posse of stakeholders to take a look. Among them was Hammond Jennings, a pragmatic follower of the Messengers of Salvation, who had also sensed something amiss from his kin at the outpost, and his erstwhile Eves companion Sash. They were joined by Dr. Elizabeth McCormick, a Professors whose colleagues oversaw Hadley's operations, and Cassandra from Klout, an AI telepresence drone, whose cryptic organization needs the supplies produced by the refinery.   Carnage awaited the party upon their arrival at Hadley's Hope. The gates had been thrown wide, with the slashed and torn bodies of the workers piling up at the threshold and scattered about along the road. Twin pillars of acrid smoke piled up toward the clouds, sustained by a slow but insistent flame fed by a pool of leaked biomaterials. McCormick and Sash poked through the ruins and managed to put out the fire with sand. Though they had to flush out the refinery's contents in the process, they had kept the machinery intact. They also discovered that explosives were used to blow a whole in the wall protecting the outpost, letting several large feral creatures in to wreck havoc. The others scouted outside and confirmed the tracks left by the Demons, as Jennings called them. They led off into the woods and should be straight forward to follow.   However, as the group finished up their field work, they found a looming shape meandering through the woods. As they inch closer, they see that it is a Dire Bear, an enormous van sized creature with rock like armor covering much of its body. Cassandra distracts the bear using a mimicry of its call, drifting upward to bait the creature up a tree (which it promptly climbs and collapses). Jenninngs and Jeremiah move to surround the creature and unleash a duo barrage from their shotgun and rifle, utterly devastating the beast. As Sash collect some samples (and jokingly offers Jennnings a lick), they realize that a beast of this enormous size did not match the claw marks on the victims, nor the track leading off into the forest. They resolve to pursue the track, though not before spending a night encamped in Hadley's shelter.   The next day, they set off. The tracks were not hard to follow, though the Wasteland is difficult to navigate. They are led down a steep incline, whereupon they notice an odd cluster of red-glowing spores. It was the size of a football and its hollow structure was delicate as a dandelion. After Jennings nearly cripples himself trying to get to the strange prize, they manage to secure it with Sash's help, placing it gently in a blanket and -- none being fond of the idea of remaining close to it -- strapping it to Cassandra's antigrav chassis.   They reach The Cabin late in the afternoon. It sits quietly on a hill, windows partially boarded up, and the land around it cleared of the dense foliage. Jennings spots markers on the roadside, a symbol of his religion nailed to a tree... as well as several skulls, some human. He yells a greeting but gets no response. Cassandra puts the pouch in a tree and moves forward to do a fly over... and is instantly shot at from inside the house!   The party spring into action, pushing up toward The Cabin. Jeremiah moves into the trees for cover, and spots a figure fleeing from the backdoor. He takes a shot from the rifle and drops him.   The other push up toward the front door, hearing gunshots and worried that they would be next, but it is Jeremiah that is in trouble! A pair of gigantic demon-eyed wolves pounce on him. He has a moment to react and bayonets one of them in the jaws before they drag him to the ground.   Meanwhile, Jennings and Sash assault The Cabin. Sash climbs up to the roof and spies the downed the figure in the grass, bleeding and unmoving. Jennings takes the front door... narrowing avoiding a trip wire before blasting a blind shotgun burst through the room... only to find it empty.   McCormick rushes to help Jeremiah, using the portable shielding technology to help him fight off the wolves. The Demons are relentless, biting and clawing at the two of them even though they were unable to get past the tech barrier. Even more disturbingly, the creatures continued to fight even after Jeremiah forces his blade down its throat... and even after they took off its head!   After a short conversation, the doctor concludes that their unnatural resilience must be associated with the pulsing red glow in their veins... and reflect on the fact that they both were covered in the blood of the beasts. They move to see to the fallen figure... only to see the same veins pulsing weakly along his left arm! Wary of him coming back the dead, they move secure him on a dining table. But it turns out his end is near, and beyond their help. Dr. McCormick revives him briefly with a shot of adrenaline. He screams incoherently, yelling at the group that they trespass upon the realm of Mother before passing on.   The group burn him, the wolves and the Cabin, though not before scouring it for useful equipment and information. Gerald Watkins, as the deranged man was called, had been distilling some sort of serum from a toxin, and dosing himself with it. It was unclear what he sought to accomplish with this, but he took half-rambling notes of his procedure. They also retrieve the Device he used for the medical procedure. No doubt someone can put it to better use. Before they leave for Out, they return to retrieve their blanket-wrapped spores... only to find it gone from the tree.

Rewards Granted

• Watkin's Piv -- currently held by Sash.
• Hadley's Hope: requires investment of a Surplus (crew or technology) to produce a materiel Surplus at the end of the Age.
• Watkin's Folly: a hilltop cleared of trees and nearby threats (mostly)
• Studies of exotic toxin

Character(s) interacted with

The deranged Gerald Watkins and his demonic wolves were put down by the party.